Mercy Flame
by Punk19
Summary: Tensions get high when a group of kids' father's aren't around. Can they keep it together?
1. Chapter 1

Running as fast as I could, looking over my shoulders, trying to see anything that moved in the pitch black darkness, I could hear his boots off in the distance, he was running to catch up, his breathing was heavy and hard, I could detect a hint of pain in his breathing as he'd gasp every so often. There was suppose to be a building, an unfinished building, in my area and I hoped to reach it before he reached me, I was tiring fast. There were no stars out, the clouds hid them, the moon was also hidden, to the side I saw the city's lights.

"Come on," I said to myself. "where are you?"

The building must have heard me as it loomed up ahead of me, I tried picking the pace up and tripped, falling hard on my side and sliding a few feet down a hill. When I picked myself up I heard that he was picking the pace up as well. The building was ten feet away, when I stood my knee screamed in pain, I limped to the door and broke it down. When I stepped into the building there were still tools, wires and pieces of wood thrown about. I limp walked to the far room, feeling the wall with my hand, there was no light in the building. When my hand slid onto a table I stopped, turning around I looked behind me, the man that was chasing me had either given the chase up or wasn't to the building yet. Swallowing hard, each breath hurt, I got down on my knees and climbed under the table. Nails were still poking up from the floor and they cut my hands and knees. Holding the yelps of pain in, pulling my knees to my chest and holding my breath at the same time, I waited. I don't know how long I had to wait, all I knew was that I heard a roar of anger flood through the building.

"Girlie!" he roared. "Where the fuck are you?"

He was a fast guy without a doubt, it had taken me a few minutes to reach the table and get under it, he ran in the room, his eyes flashing a deep ruby red, his lower teeth were bright silver, it looked like he was rabid as they lit his chin silver as well they were so bright. I closed my mouth, slowed my breathing and closed my eyes, hoping he'd walk past and not notice that I was here. My hope turned to despair as I felt a tug on my hair.

"Get your ass from under there!" he roared.

He was very strong, the nails cut my jeans and started digging themselves in my flesh, as he pulled me from under the table they dug in deeper, slicing me. He swung my hand around to the back of my head where his hand was, I tried prying his fingers from my hair, tried getting away, with an evil laugh he tugged even harder. I felt pieces of hair pull out when he and I came face to face. I heard him snarl and growl I was so close.

"You and I have some unfinished business to take care of." he said menacingly.

He had burned me once, my whole left arm was charred and bloody from when he had grabbed and turned his flamethrower on full blast. The only way I had been able to get away was to push him into a storage room. Thinking that this would do the trick so that I could get away from him, I pushed him with my right arm. He started laughing at my weak attempts.

"Is that all?" he laughed, tightening his grip on my hair. "You have got to be kidding me!"

I was too slow, he raised his flamethrower and slammed it against my face, I fell down to the floor. Thinking that this could be my chance to get away I began crawling. There was a hole big enough for me to get in under the table and I went straight for it. I was once foot away from it when he grabbed my ankle.

"And where do you think you are going?" he growled.

I swung myself around, my ankle was in his hand one minute the next it was against his stomach, kicking him back against the wall. When I heard the thud I turned around and crawled in the hole, I discovered that it went all the way through the wall so I climbed all the way across. When I got to the room on the other side I saw nothing but electrical wires. Hearing a sound behind me I turned. He was tearing the table from the wall and was looking in the hole, at me, his ruby red eyes haunted me and put fear in my heart. He pointed his flamethrower at me for only a second then lowered it, I was more than five feet away, too far for his flamethrower to do any damage. My arm screamed in pain when it rubbed up against an unprotected wire. He and I had eye contact for a few minutes, I began to think he wasn't going to chance following me, when I blinked my eyes he took a step into the hole, following me.

"You aren't getting away so easy girlie!" he roared.

I started crawling as fast as I could through the room, pulling as many wires loose when they held me back. All it took was three minutes for me to reach a wall where there were no wires. When I turned I saw he was at the end of the hole, he was looking at the wires, could he come through? Would he chance it? A bunch of questions ran through my head, one of which was if I was going to make it through this alive. As if proving me wrong, he took a step into the wires.

He flamethrower caught on a few wires the first few feet he took, with a yank he tore them off, there was a few containers of gasoline and a bucket of water to his left, when he yanked the wire from his flamethrower he knocked them down. The whole floor was wet from the gas and water, I got up on my knees just in case there was some juice left in the wires, none had reached the floor yet. They were all an inch or two above it. It took him a few minutes to reach me and to knock me down to my elbows, when I looked up the wires gave him an even more evil look, like he had torture devices above him. He knew I was looking at the wires, with his left foot he kicked me in the side of my face, making me turn to my back.

"Look at me girlie!" he said, looming over me. "not the damn wires!"

He only allowed me to pick myself up off the floor halfway, once I was in a sitting postion he walked forward and pressed hims body up against me. He was hot, very hot, his breathing had calmed down to normal and his eyes were unlit. I was close to the wall, I couldn't move my arms, he had me paralyzed in fear. I turned my head away from him, away from his eyes, disobeying him.

"I said look at me!" he roared, he grabbed my hair again and pulled my head around, made me stare at him. "I prefer for my victims to look at me before I destroy them!"

For some reason I got the urge to shove myself against him, to get him away from me. I didn't like him being so close to me, he was too hot and I was beginning to count the beat inside his chest as my timer to death. With a heave, I shoved him back to the wires, he fell to the floor, his flamethrower made a thud so loud that it echoed through the whole building. For a minute he didn't move, I thought I had injured him, hurt him enough to not get up. To my relief and horror, he sat up. He looked at me for a second then stood up, when he took a step towards me he found himself being tugged back. The wires were wound around him, banning him from coming forward. With a roar he turned around, pulling wires down and further tangling himself up. I didn't know why, but I felt that I needed to help him, I crawled towards him, when my hand landed on his shoulder he turned around. I saw stars when his foot collided with my chin, knocking me back, I must have been close to him when I fell to the floor because he kicked the side of my face, making me turn towards the floor.

When I came to a few minutes later I saw that he was hanging down, his knees almost against the floor. Something inside me felt pity for the guy, he looked tired. Pulling myself up, the side of my face felt like it was swollen, I crawled towards him. When I placed my hands on him he didn't move, he stayed in place, almost on his knees with his hand and flamethrower dangling under his body.

"Don't touch him!" I heard someone in my head say. "It may be a trick, he may be tricking you into thinking he's hurt and too tired to put up a fight. Get out of there!"

I didn't listen to the voice, I placed both hands on his shoulders. The wire was really tight on him so I began removing it, loosening it up then letting it fall down. His arms and shoulders were free, I was working on loosening the wires around his waist when he pulled his hand up and grabbed my neck.

"Should have listened to your inner self girlie!" he said sinisterly. "Now you die!"

He threw me back a few inches, I crashed to the ground, the side of my head started throbbing. When I looked up I saw his boot, a blood red boot with chains on the side, crash down on my neck. I felt my neck snap, he had broken the vertebrae in my neck, paralyzing me for good. Now that he knew I couldn't get away, he started struggling against the wires. I had forgotten one wire that was wrapped around his flamethrower, when he pulled it loose he pointed his weapon at me, an evil smile on his face. Something fell behind him, when he lit his flamethrower the flame didn't hit me, it hit the gasoline and water on the floor two feet to the left of me. I turned my eyes up and saw a wire fall, the end charging up with electricity. When it touched the floor I closed my eyes, both of us were doomed to die together, predator and prey.

"Ma'am?" I heard someone say. "Ma'am, can you hear me? Are you okay?"

My eyes fluttered open, there was a man standing in front of me wearing a green surgeons suit. When I nodded my head I realised that my neck wasn't broken, that my vertebrae was intact. The room that I was in was white with a blue tiled floor. The surgeon had brown-gray hair and green eyes, his mask was down.

"Yes," I whispered, almost unable to talk. "I am."

"Someone must have been looking out for you," the surgeon said. "you are a very lucky woman miss."

"W...where is he?" I whispered.

"The man that saved you?" the surgeon replied. "Over there, sitting in that chair."

My eyes must have fallen out of my head when I turned towards the chair beside the bed, the one the surgeon was pointing at. Sitting in it was the guy that had chased me to the building, the same guy that had kicked me in the face and grabbed my hair. His eyes were dimmed low, the only part I could detect was the star burst in the middle. He sat up straight. His blood red and silver bullets for upper and silver teeth for bottom teeth grinding against one another. He was wearing a blood red jacket, very torn up, a gray shirt underneath and a pair of blood red pants with rips in the knees. Raising one of his legs, he crossed it over the other.

"C...can I talk to him alone?" I asked.

"Sure ma'am." the surgeon said.

The surgeon left the room slowly, he could tell something was up as he kept looking over his shoulder. When he closed the door he stood behind it, his ear against it, trying to hear what was said. I didn't care, I needed answers. Sitting up, my arm heavily bandaged, when I raised my unwound and unbandaged hand to my head I felt more bandages. When I turned my head towards him, it felt like it was about to fall off.

"Why?" I asked. "Why didn't you finish me off?"

"Cause," he said.

"Cause why?" I asked, fear seeping into my voice. "Tell me please!"

"It was all in practise," he said. "my dad wanted me to expand my skills."

"So...I was your Guinea Pig?" I exclaimed.

"In a way yes," he replied. "my dad and I drew a contract saying that I could practise with anyone I chose, just as long as I don't kill him...or her."

"How many others have you done this to?" I asked.

"Just you." he said, his lower jaw dropping in a sickly, evil smile.

My mouth dropped a little in shock, I couldn't believe it. I wondered how old this guy was, I didn't even know his name. He looked to be sixteen inches tall, his face was the same color as his boots, blood red. Sliding down from the chair, pulling a wallet from his back pocket, he took a few hundred dollars out.

"Who are you?" I asked. "And what are you doing?"

"My name is Arson," he replied. "but everyone calls me Firechild."

"What are you doing?" I repeated.

"Paying you for your services."

He placed three hundred dollar bills on the table at the side of the bed and started walking out. I reached my hand out and touched his shoulder, stopping him. I wanted to know why, why he had picked me to be his Guinea Pig, how old he was and if he had a father, who he was. I also wanted to know what would happen if I pressed charges on the guy.

"Who is your father?" I asked.

"My father's name is Torch," he boomed. "he's out of town at the moment, filming a new movie."

"Why did you choose me to practise on?" I asked, confused.

"You was alone and you looked to be a good target." he replied. "I have to go now."

"How old are you?" I asked, trying to keep him in my room.

"Ten." he replied. He began walking towards the door.

"What happens...what would happen if I pressed charges?" I asked, pulling myself up.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," he said, turning around, his eyes were lit brightly and he was smiling evilly.

"And what if I did?" I screamed. "Your daddy gonna come after me!"

"No, I will!" he snarled. "Have a nice night."

When he stepped out of the room his eyes were still on me, still staring at me, striking me with so much fear that I began shaking. It was no better when he disappeared around the corner. The surgeon walked in and came up to my bed, I heard him ask me if I was okay and if I needed some water. I shook my head, reaching my hand over to the table I grabbed the three hundred dollar bills, I had no where to put them so I just slipped them under the beds mattress. My vision was blurry and I was dizzy so I slid back down to my back, the pillow felt so good. My eyes closed and I felt my breathing slow up, within five minutes I was asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking into the house and throwing his jacket up on the rack, Arson only saw two of his siblings. His older half sister, Slasha, was sitting on the couch with needle and thread in hand, a pair of his pants on her lap. His eyes lit brightly when he saw his half brother, Slash, walk in. He and Slash had been given the duty of practising their skills out in field tonight and it didn't look like he had left the house. His clothes were still neat and tidy, his hair was brushed back, the part that wasn't was the top where it was very spiky, and he wasn't wearing his weapons.

"I suppose I'll have to write that letter to our dad's tonight about you disobeying his instructions." he said loudly.

Slasha jumped up from the couch quickly, the silver spikes in her eyes shot out and he heard her hiss, she had a skull face, her eyes were hollow except for the silver spikes in the middle. She was wearing a black dress, she had gotten over her obsession of Bellatrix Lestrange a few years earlier and was wearing a black dress with red and purple on the top, she had purple shoes on her feet and a purple and red bow in her copper gray hair, it reached almost all the way down to her waist, she was twelve years old and was twelve inches tall.

"Arson, scared me!" she squeaked, she had a low hiss to her voice that softened it a little bit.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Slash growled loudly. "It's only nine!"

"Best do these things early man," Arson snarled. "that way the rest of the night is free."

"Yeah well I prefer doing my hunting after midnight!" Slash yelled.

Slash was two years younger than him and slightly shorter, his long dark silver hair went all the way down his shoulders, it'd go much farther if Arson wouldn't have set the end on fire one day when they had gotten into a fight. He was wearing a black shirt with red and gray skull on the front and black pants with a red stripe on the sides and a black leather jacket, on the back it said in red letters Born to be Bad, on his feet were black boots. His half brother had a skull face, his chin was slightly clefted, and in the middle of his black eyes were dark silver spikes.

"Lazy ass!" Arson yelled.

"I am not!" his half brother yelled. "I prefer doing my hunting after midnight, a lot more exciting."

His half brother hissed after the last word left his mouth, his mother had gone on a traveling trip a week earlier and had promised to be back within a month, the caretakers had gone with their father's and uncle's and aunt, leaving them with two women. One was asleep, she usually went to bed at eight and didn't get up until seven, Arson could hear the other in the kitchen, the scent of beef was almost unbearable, he hadn't had supper yet.

"And what's your story?" Arson said towards Slasha. "You gonna sit here on your ass stitching clothes or are you going to go out hunting?"

"Arson for real," Slasha sighed. "our father's are in China and will be there for awhile, we have plenty of time to hunt while they are gone."

His sister would always act like she was the logical one, putting everything on the table and taking awhile to do things. Her father had gotten on her several times for slacking up when he had sent her out hunting, one night after she hadn't returned he had gone to find her, she had been in the barn the whole time. After that incident her father had gone with her every time she was scheduled for a hunt, at times she was clumsy and would grab the attention of her victim and drive him off. She'd always target the men, she had been born with a barbed blade, very sharp and very poisonous! One time she had poked a rat with it, playing around, the rat had died a few seconds later.

"Regardless, our father's told us to have a list of our victim's," Arson said, remembering what his father had told him. "I've got two on my list and how many have you two got?"

His half siblings lowered their heads, before their father's had left they had made all of them promise to write down what they had done and the name of the human that they had preyed on. Arson had two on his list, even though his father had told him to only hunt men he had gone and preyed on two women, killing one and injuring another.

"Well, uh, we haven't really done anything but look so far." Slasha admitted.

"It's going to take us awhile to find a suitable victim," Slash sighed loudly, a hint of a hiss in his voice. "unlike you we prefer a good and healthy victim."

"The last two victims I did in were healthy." Arson said. "I need to change clothes, I'm drenched!"

Walking up the stairs, unbuttoning his shirt in the process, Arson walked into his younger half brother. Loui had dyed a few parts of his hair chestnut brown a few months back and it was just getting back to it's full auburn brown, his mother and father hadn't been very happy when they had walked into his bedroom, they had had to yank the towel away from his head just to see it. He was wearing a green and gold tunic with little gold balls hanging from the bottom, a black belt around his waist, and gold lame pants, on his feet were green belled shoes, he usually wore a green and gold belled hat.

"Hey Arson!" he exclaimed. "How long you been gone?"

"Few hours," Arson replied. "going up for a change of clothes."

"You and Four Way seem to be the only ones that are doing as they are suppose to," Loui sighed. "can't do much myself but maybe one day I can distract someone for you..."

Loui was more on the shy side, he did have a comical side like his father but at times his shy side got the better of him. He was only seven years old, the youngest, and with his bright blue eyes he was very smart. He and Slash were at times buddies, when Slash wasn't around he hung around Four Way Shot. When he was five he had fallen into an uncovered well and had gotten stuck inside, he had screamed for help for hours, when his older half brother, Four Way Shot, had found him he had almost lost his voice.

"You know how I prefer hunting on my own," Arson sighed. "maybe Four Way Shot will let you tag along with him."

"Hope so," Loui whispered. "I need someone on my list."

Walking up to his room, which hadn't changed much except for a few more posters of things on fire and a few more lava lamps, Arson turned on the light. A few weeks earlier he had had a black light put up in his room, there was only one poster in his room that lit up, the poster was of a dragon flying and breathing fire, very intense. Smiling when the poster lit up, he walked to his bathroom and started drawing himself a bath. He couldn't put his flamethrower in the water, if he did it wouldn't work properly, it'd need to be drained and dried before it could be used and that took several hours.

"Arson?" he heard an hour later. "Ye in thar?"

Letting his jaw drop, smiling widely, Arson walked forward and opened his door. He was still in a towel, having just gotten out of the bathtub a few minutes before his brother knocked on his door, lying on his bed was a pair of army pants, a light tan jacket and a white t-shirt, a pair of black boots with chains on the side was at the foot of his bed.

"Hey Four Way!" Arson exclaimed. "Where did you run off to so fast today?"

"No whar," his brother said quickly. "jus' went ridin' an' all."

"How many humans on your list?" Arson asked, stepping aside so his brother could walk in.

"Jus' three," his brother said, sighing loudly. "how many ye got on yer list?"

"Two," Arson said quickly.

Four Way Shot was twenty inches tall, he had four arms and a very handsome face. Everyone joked that he was his father all over again besides the personality differences. He was more of a dare devil, he preferred taking chances rather than playing it safe. One time he had taken his father's Winchester rifle and had shot it at some trees, when he had pulled the trigger the gun's stock and butt had pulled into his face, leaving a bump and scratch. He had been eleven years old then, he was now fourteen years old.

"We jus' started huntin' an' ye already gots two humans on yer list?" Four Way Shot exclaimed.

"I went double tonight," Arson replied, turning around a little. "two girlies."

"Gals?" his brother said, shocked. "Our pa's done told us to jus' hunt men."

"Tell me," Arson laughed. "when was the last time I fully obeyed my father?"

Four Way Shot rubbed his top left hand over his head, his hat fell off and he caught it with his top right hand. Arson and his father had an okay relationship, it wasn't the best as one was always bickering about the other. When his uncle had taken his son out for his first hunting lesson at age six he had done nothing but yell and complain, when they had returned home almost everyone had been asleep in bed, he and Loui had been the only ones up in the kitchen, trying to get a late night snack from the fridge.

"Nah," Four Way Shot sighed. "yer cool an' that's that."

"Thank you!" Arson exclaimed, pulling his white t-shirt over him. "Thank you for calling me cool bro."

"Uh!" his brother moaned. "Can ye put yer towel back on? Please!"

When Arson had pulled his shirt on the towel that was around his waist had fallen off. Four Way Shot turned around quickly, hiding his face in his hands. Arson shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his pants, slipping them on and forgetting about the pair of red and black checkered boxers. Grabbing the boots and sliding them on his feet, he turned his head around. His brother still had his back turned to him so he grabbed a firecracker and walked towards him. He had done this several times, the firecracker in his hand was really a fake but only he knew it. Smiling widely, he pulled the back of his brother's pants open and slipped the dummy bomb in. Hi brother ran out of the room yelling.

"I thought you had said you was going to watch your back whenever you're near me!" he laughed loudly.

Seeing her older half brother run down the stairs and into the kitchen with two of his four hands behind his back made Slasha laugh. Her relationship with him was stretched and she had a pang of fear built up when it came to her being around him and when no one else was around, but she felt that he was a good and responsible brother. One time when she had fallen off of Belle, a horse her father usually rode, he had been there to help her up. She wasn't all the good at riding a horse, she preferred to be on the ground, she didn't understand how her half brother was able to be around such an animal so much taller and stronger than himself, his father and he both acted like the animals were their whole life, spending just about as much time around them and taking just as long to take care of the other animals on the ranch.

"Incoming!" Slasha laughed loudly.

Pulling herself around, her long brown hair swinging from one shoulder to the other, the woman behind the counter saw her son race into the kitchen. Two of his hands were behind his back, one in his pants. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was twisted in horror. Hiding a laugh, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around him. When she picked him up a firecracker fell out of his hands.

"Arson again?" she asked, hiding a laugh.

"Whut do ye expect?" her four armed son replied. "should o' been watchin' mah back end."

Shoving his head into his mother's shoulder, Four Way Shot smelled freshly cooked Beef Jerky. His mother was wearing a red button up long sleeve shirt with tan stitching, black jeans and black cowgirl boots, normally she would be wearing a beige cowgirl hat, turning his head to the side he saw it hanging off the back of a chair. The scent of the Jerky was almost drool-worthy, he was fighting back the urge to drop his mouth and start drooling. His mother had darker eyes and hair than he, he had gotten his hair and eyes from his father. When he had been younger his hair had had a lot more yellow in it, nowadays it had less, it was just about as light brown as his father's.

"My," his mother exclaimed. "are you heavy!"

"I shur is!" Four Way Shot laughed.

"What have I been feeding you?" his mother joked.

"Yer good home cooked food mah." her son replied.

His mother was smiling brightly, when she placed him down on the floor she brushed a hand over his head. She had been living with his father and uncle's and aunt for fourteen years, he had found out one day after being kicked in the stomach by Belle that she was his mother when he was nine. He had just as great a relationship as he had with his father. Walking past his mother he went to the fridge for a snack.

"Don't fill up on snacks Four Way," his mother called. "dinner in ten."


	3. Chapter 3

"There's gum on the bottom of your shoe." Slasha snickered.

"I'm not falling for that again!" Arson snarled.

His half sister had pulled this joke one too many times and he was getting rather tired of it. It was eleven thirty and Four Way Shot had gone off to check on the animals. Besides the horses, they had pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cows and one lone donkey that his uncle had bought for a hundred dollars. There was a large barn in the center of their large yard, a chicken house to the left of it and the pig pen, the goat's pen and the sheep's pen was the the right, behind it was the pasture for the horses and to the side of it was the pasture for the cows and the two bulls.

"You're just to chicken to look down." his half sister taunted him.

"I'm not chicken," he replied, pushing his shoulder into her. "just too smart to look down."

It was a hot day, up in the eighties with no chance of wind or rain, the ground had dried up and the grass had vanished. In California it was normal for droughts to happen. The horses, goats, sheep and the donkey had to be content with the hay that his uncle bought every few months. His half brother's were out as well, he could see Loui running around, chasing the chickens, he didn't know the whereabouts of Slash though. Standing up and brushing his pants of the crumbs that had fallen from the jelly filled donut he had just eaten, he walked towards the barn.

"Dancing under the stars, the moon lost, red lights in the distance. Spiders crawling, roaches falling, snakes slithering. Red lights growing brighter, drawing the stars away, tears flowing down my face. Wolves howl, owls hoot, worms wriggling deep inside. Yellow eyes staring, white fangs shining, claws of red and gold scraping."

Flashing his eyes on and off, his way of rolling them, he walked up to the barn's loft. On three sides were bales of hay, the fourth side was empty, a large window was open, a hook dangled from a chain, it was used to lift the hay into the loft. Usually it'd be carried up the ramp but on a few days when either Four Way Shot or his father didn't feel like going back and forth they used the hook, one in the loft and the other on the ground.

"Noises growing louder, water growing sparse, grass fading to dust. Golden hooves smashing, nostrils of red and black blaring, teeth snapping. Screaming and crying, pounding of feet, thunder and mist. Muddy paws, bloody prints and calls, a crow in the distance calling."

His brother would do this a lot, he'd hide in either the barn's loft or the chicken house to write and recite the poetry he wrote. He'd drive his father insane at times, he'd chase him around and beg for him to both read and listen to him sing his poems aloud. He got on everyone's nerves at times, it was usually his father he chased around but recently he had started chasing their aunt, Leech Woman, and his mother around. Walking around a bale of hay, Arson saw his half brother. He was lying down on the floor, his head and feet up against the hay, a notebook with a black front flap was on his lap.

"Hiding to recite poetry again?" Arson laughed.

"I'm not hiding!" his half brother yelled.

"Yeah," Arson snickered. "this looks like you aren't hiding, you sitting up here and no one but me knows you're up here."

"For your information," Slash hissed. "I am up here to get some privacy."

"You can't do that in your room?" Arson asked, letting his mouth drop a little. "Or the bathroom?"

"Do my reading and writing in the bathroom," Slash thought aloud. "do you by any chance know what happens in the bathroom? Gross man!"

His half brother had picked himself up a little, the notebook was in his hand, rolled up. He'd go through three notebooks a month, his favorite colors were red, purple and black so the flaps on the notebooks would either be red, purple or black, one time he had received a green flapped notebook from his mother, when she had had her back turned he had ripped the green flap off. Leaning against a bale of hay, smiling evilly, he stared at his half brother.

"Poor sweet Slash," Arson said jokingly. "he can't take noxious fumes."

"I'd very much like to keep my nose on my face thanks." Slash said, turning back to his notebook.

At times he really didn't understand his half brother, both he and his half sister were hard to figure out. One minute they'd join up to pull some pranks and get him and Four Way Shot in trouble, the next they'd prefer to be alone. For some reason they never bothered Loui, at times he'd join them in a harmless prank, at others he'd be at his and his older brother's side, taking up for them. Shrugging his shoulders and turning around, he exited the loft and walked out of the barn. He saw that his half sister had her back to him, she was sitting behind the chicken house. She was wearing a sunhat.

"You silly, stupid bugs!" she was saying. "Worthless, disgusting, stupid and totally hideous."

He had no idea who she was talking to, when he got close enough he saw that she'd push her shoulders forward every so often. Whenever she went outside she'd change into either a black and purple shirt, black jeans and purple shoes, the hat was new, she had got it for her twelfth birthday. Beside her was a purple bag with a light purple flower on the side, she'd usually have a few books and a doll in it.

"Don't worry Sally," she said. "these filthy bugs won't be messing around with us anymore."

Looking over her shoulder, Arson felt like he was going to get sick. She had a piece of white paper on the ground, a board underneath it, there were five flies on the paper and each of them had pins stuck through their body. She was in the process of sticking a pin in the center of a caterpillar. Her doll was propped up against the chicken house, it's blonde hair and blue eyes staring at the flies as they breathed their last breath and as they moved their legs for the last time. Before Slasha could push a second pin into the caterpillar Arson cleared his throat.

"So..." Arson choked. "this is how you practise your skills? By killing bugs?"

His half sister jumped up and flipped the board and the paper with her bug victims over, when she turned around he saw that her spikes were out, whenever she was excited or in a vicious mood they'd be out. Her sunhat flew from the top of her head to the ground, landing in front of his feet. There was a pin cushion beside her doll with fifteen or so pins sticking out of it. Leaning against the chicken house, a half smile on his face, his stomach churning and threatening to spew the pastry he had eaten a few minutes before, Arson looked at his half sister.

"No!" Slasha exclaimed. "They were bugging Lula Belle."

"So I suppose she just up and told you to use your pins to torture them to death." Arson said, he was swallowing now. The caterpillar was still alive, it was crawling, or trying to, away with the paper still on top of it.

"I saw it in her eyes!" Slasha exclaimed, a hint of a hiss in her voice. "She hated those bugs crawling and flying all around her."

"So I suppose if I was a bug you'd do the same?" he choked, he was desperately trying to stop the pastry from coming up.

"A-heh heh heh! A-heh heh heh! A-heh heh heh!" Slasha laughed. "I'd do much worse to you if you were a bug!"

Not being able to hold it in anymore he ran from his half sister without saying good bye to a bush. Along with the pastry he tossed up the two pancakes and the sausages that he had eaten for breakfast. He could hear his half sister laughing, he could also feel that she was pointing a finger at him. When he pulled himself up he wiped his mouth and turned around, Slasha was standing in front of the chicken house, one arm around her waist and another pointing at him, he could see Slash walking out of the barn, he looked curious. When he saw him behind a bush he dropped to his knees and started laughing as well. Having had enough of his younger half brother, he rushed forward, nearly tripping on a root, and ran towards him.

"And what's so fucking funny!" he screamed.

"Arson!"

Turning himself around, his eyes flashing, even though it was daylight he could still make his eyes viewable when they were lit, the star burst in the middle was almost nonexistent unless he was in the dark. Standing outside the house, her hand holding the screen door open, was Slasha and Loui's mother. She was wearing green jeans with red paint splashes on the front, a green shirt that was open in the front and white shoes, her hair came down to her shoulders and was red, she had green eyes.

"Judy..." he whispered.

"You, your father and I are going to have a talk right now." she said.

"Oh great!" he exclaimed. "why don't you write on a piece of paper my death sentence while you're at it!"

"Right now!" Judy said angrily. "Get inside right now!"

"Whatever..."he growled. "lets get this over with."

Walking into the kitchen with Slash and Loui's mother poking him in the back made him feel like turning around and making a flame-boiled human, unfortunately his flamethrower was empty and if he tried it he'd be grounded for life and he wouldn't be allowed to use his flamethrower again. Judy picked him up under his arms roughly and sat him on the counter, the phone was two feet away. Kicking his feet back, the cabinet door hitting up against the wood below him, he watched as Judy punched the numbers to his father's cell.

"Yes...may I talk to Torch?" she asked.

Flashing his eyes on and off, rolling his head from one side the another, opening his mouth and mocking her as she turned her back to him, Arson hid a laugh. He had accidentally dropped his father's cell phone into the toilet four days before his father left for China and when he had gone to retrieve it it had been flushed. Somehow the toilet had gotten backed up, causing one of the caretakers to plunge it, when the phone had been pulled out it had been deemed unusable. His father had been mad and had sent him to his room, one of three punishments he got from time to time. He hadn't had enough time to get a new phone so had told Slasha and Loui's mother and Four Way Shot's mother that if they needed to get in contact with him to call either Jeff's or Brian's.

"Yes Torch I know you are busy, but..." Judy was saying. "no...Torch seriously I can't take care...what's that? No I will not! Something has to be done about your son's mouth!"

Judy still had his back to him so he took his hand and he placed it around his eyes, making himself a one eye binocular, when she still didn't turn around he placed his hand on his head, fingers outspread like he had one antler. Loui would do this as well, whenever his mother had her back turned to him he'd make all sorts of funny faces, he'd throw his hands up and grab his crotch. One time he had gone to far and had been caught and swiftly sent to his room for an hour.

"Alright!" Judy was sighing loudly. "I will put a bar of soap in his mouth!"

Pulling his head and and knocking his feet into the cabinets door hard, his mouth closing and opening several times, he had had the taste of soup in his mouth several times, the recent bar of soup had been green and the taste had almost made his bottom jaw fall off. One day when he had had a bar of Irish Spring soup shoved in his mouth after saying fuck you to his father his half brother, Loui, had made a joke about soup being a regular food item in his diet.

"Alright, I best get off here and do that before he decides to run off." Judy said into the phone. "Talk to ya soon Torch, give Blade and Jester my love. Yeah yeah night Torch!"

When Judy turned around and hung the phone up on it's receiver he stopped messing around, he wished he would have jumped off the counter and ran off to the bushes. She picked him up under the arms and carried him to the bathroom down the hall were she placed him on the toilet that he had dropped and flushed his father's cell phone. She reached into the cabinet under the sink and pulled out an unopened pack of Dove soap, he hadn't tasted Dove, the brands he was use to was Irish Spring, Zest and Dial.

"Open your mouth Arson!" she demanded.

"And if I don't?" Arson snarled. "You gonna pry it open with a crow bar?"

"Young man!" Judy exclaimed. "Either you'll open your mouth on your own or I'll just shove this bar in it and make you swallow it."

Shrugging his shoulders and opening his mouth, he wished he wouldn't have. The taste of Zest and Dial had been bad but the bar of Dove soap tasted far worse! He gagged a few times and shook his head, the taste was unbearable! He spit a few times and grabbed his stomach, although it was empty he didn't feel hungry. Five minutes of having the tortured soap in his mouth, five minutes of seeing Judy standing above him and watching him throw his head around, she took the soap out. The first thing he wanted to do was grab the sink and turn it on to get the taste out.

"Now, have you learned your lesson?" Judy demanded.

"Yes ma'am!" he spat. "No more cussing!"

"Good boy," she said. "you may wash your mouth."


End file.
